Investing in children is the best investment Egypt can make. Children's health and well-being determines to a great extent the country's well-being. The trends in child poverty during 2000 - 2008 will be analyzed in this study for the first time in Egypt for all eight dimensions, namely; income aspect of poverty, as well as seven other dimensions of childhood poverty based on different types of deprivation. This study introduces for the first time in Egypt trends and changes applying the Oxford Poverty
and Human Development Initiative Measures (OPHD) for children less than 18 years, this is a new method for measuring multidimensional poverty .The main objectives of this study is to identify the trends of overall child poverty during 2000-2008, to assess the key correlates that affect the dimensions of poverty,and to investigate the changes in Oxford Poverty Measures during 2000-2008. These objectives facilitate the direction and program planning, evaluation, and policy development activities and types of work needed to reduce child poverty. The main sources of data for child poverty analysis are the Household Income and Expenditure Surveys (HIECS) and the Egypt Demographic Health Surveys (EDHS). These surveys are available for the years 2000, 2005 and 2008 and are used in the analysis of this study.
The results of the study shows that more than half of all children less than 18 years live in income-poor families and the situation has worsened over time. Poverty of all sorts remains a highly rural phenomenon Education deprivation for children has decreased over time, indicating a steady improvement in Egypt's educational system. Food deprivation reached alarming levels in 2008; not only for households with few assets but also for wealthy families. The education level of mothers continues to be one the most important explanations for most kinds of deprivations and thus one of the greatest opportunities to reduce child poverty. Family size still matters and deprivation remains particularly high in
households with more than three children. Sex of child does not affect child poverty.
Oxford measurements decreased between 2000 and 2008 in both urban and rural areas. However, they are much higher in rural areas than urban ones and are highest in regions of rural Upper Egypt.